Valerie Harmon

Valerie Harmon's love of reading has affected her life so profoundly, that she is on a mission to encourage childhood literacy in every way possible.

After graduating cum laude with a BA in English, she has taught English and Shakespeare, edited many books (both adult and children) as a free-lance editor, authored 10 children's picture books and 10 interactive book apps, and runs a children's picture book review site.

Harmon applauds the use of technology to successfully raise childhood literacy levels--with the power of eReaders, whole bookshelves of books can accompany a little reader on one portable device. With the interactivity of book apps, budding readers can become entranced with stories entirely narrated any time at a touch, and whose characters move with sound effects.

Whatever the technology, board book, softback, hardback, eBook, or Book app, reading with a child not only brings us joy, but influences their educational future tremendously! Let's read!

Author Updates

Storyline: 5.0 Stars
Illustrations: 5.0 Stars
Cover: 5.0 Total: 5.0 StarsBook Review: Paper Moon presents the phases of the moon in successful rhyme (which is difficult to do!), with a parable about a moon who slowly tires and then wakes.

Storyline: Moon falls asleep to the lullaby of the Milky Way, and we see him wax and wane according to his sleepiness. Fun parable to introduce the concepts of the phases of the moon. Simple text suitable

Storyline: 5.0 Stars
Illustrations: 5.0 Stars
Cover: 5.0 Total: 5.0 Stars
Book Review:
When son doesn't obey after several requests--uh oh, out comes Momster. Only a hug and apology will restore his Mom!

Storyline: This story is a morality tale encouraging children to obey their Mom on the first request. After asking several times, Moms tend to turn into Momsters! Although none of us Moms like to be reminded of the times we get mad a

Storyline: 5.0 Stars
Illustrations: 5.0 Stars
Cover: 5.0
Total: 5.0 Stars
Summary: Pepe is a lonely dog whose life changes drastically when a sombrero lands on his head. But what he really wants is a family. Would he trade his sombrero wealth for a real family?

Storyline: This story is adorable and speaks to the heart. A rags to riches story, however the story ends emphasizing the importance of a loving family over the kind of life wealth

I reviewed the book Boe the Great here (I rated the book 5 stars so you should definitely read the book), and now I get to interview the author and illustrator Joel Feldman too! Read for a peek into his mind and some advice he has to other authors and illustrators.
Author & Illustrator Joel FeldmanValerie Harmon: What children's books influenced you and are your favorites?

Joel Feldman: My mother had a small collection of French comic books. Tin-Tin and Aste

Storyline: 4.0 Stars
Illustrations: 3.5 Stars
Total: 4.0 Stars
I've come across children who experience a lot of anxiety for the future. After all, the world seems a scary place, and they are entirely dependent on adults. Something that can help their anxiety is a book about preparations for an uncertain future.

As fans of children's literature (whether hardcover, softcover or eBook) this ABC Radio National article, by Joe Gelonesi, draws a conclusion that may be obvious to us:

"‘The evidence shows that the difference between those who get bedtime stories and those who don’t—the difference in their life chances—is bigger than the difference between those who get elite private schooling and those that don’t,’ he says."
-a quote in the article from philosopher Adam Swift

Guest Post by Scott Harpole
Here's the thing. I am in the process of learning how to market a children's book online! Hopefully I will arrive at some point and be able to say that I figured most of it out. At this time, I just have a few bumps and bruises and a couple of successes that I think might be helpful to someone else
#1 Belief! I truly believe that my children's bedtime story, Sleepy Beach, is the best story on the planet. The illustrations are incredible (I didn't

Illustrations: 5.0 Stars
Cover: 5.0 Stars
Storyline: 5.0 Stars
Total: 5.0 StarsMy Review for Park Life: The New Arrivals: Corban the crocodile and Felicity the flamingo move into Happy Valley. The five animal friends who live there must adjust to the scariness of a crocodile (although it turns out he's super nice) and the meanness of the flamingo (she learns kindness in the end), but they ALL learn friendship among their differences.

"How do I publish my book as an eBook?"
"How do I get my book into Amazon Kindle?"

These are two questions I've been asked, and I figure publishing an answer here might be helpful to you!

First, know that I have an illustrator, Carol Stevens, who takes care of all the formatting of our books (currently 10 children's picture books, in both eBook and softcover form). She preps the books for Kindle, which uses .mobi files, and for CreateSpace (for

Illustrations: Top notch illustrations. They are colorful and the animals' expressions and oddness contribute to the book. It's very unusual to have a successful illustrator who can also write a great book (and vice versa), and Bailey Fort mana

My Review for Mess-Up Molly:
Molly struggles with impatience and now her father can't trust her to hitch the horses at their Sunny Side Stables. She decides to "be careful, pay attention, and slow down" in order to improve this weakness. Following her good advice, she learns how to tie a proper safety knot, and convinces her father t

Illustrations: 5.0 Stars
Cover: 4.5 Stars
Storyline: 5.0 Stars
Total: 5.0 Stars
My Review: PJ loves animals--so he is excited to go to the zoo. They visit the three bears first--who are all sleeping. In fact, every place they go, the animals are sleeping, and the explanations for why they sleep today, gets more and more complicated. Good thing zoos are open more than one day!

My Review:
Frieda is a quiet girl in a family of ten who she gets to spend the night with her sister Mona at Aunty Arty's house. Aunty Arty is no ordinary Aunt who would take them to the movies or to eat chocolate. Instead, Aunty Art takes Frieda on an adventure custom made for her curious and accepting nature. Whiny, frustrated Mona spends most of

My Review:
On the surface, Sleepy Beach is a simple account of a family playing on a beach. But as you look closely, you see that the illustrations reveal a "giant's" face. Look even closer and you discover that this book is a parent putting their son to sleep by stroking his head and face to follow the tale.

I had the fun opportunity to judge a storytelling contest!
This contest was called Just Believe, Utah's Biggest Liar Contest, part of the locally famous Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. It was held on April 1st, which was particularly satisfying, considering tall tales were the order of the day.
My daughter joined me
The youth winner. Wow she could storytell!The adult winner, so fun to listen to!

Illustrations: 5 Stars
Cover: 3.0 Stars
Storyline: 5 Stars
Total: 4.5 Stars
My Review:
What a silly, hilarious book! There is no main character or storyline, this book breaks the fourth wall by addressing the reader with the question, "Have you ever...?" and filling in the silliest answers that are illustrated in a comical way.

Illustrations: 5 Stars
Cover: 5 Stars
Storyline: 5 Stars
Total: 5 Stars
It's very rare for one person to successfully both write and illustrate. Most of us, me included, must team up to create a children's picture book. Most unusually, with Boe the Great, Joel Feldman has single-handedly created a children's picture eBook that not only has a fun storyline and great illustrations, but a galloping read-aloud rhythm and steady rhyme.

My book The T-Rex Who Wanted To Be A Longneck just received the Reader's Choice 5 Star Award and a fabulous review from Reader's Favorite.

This means my illustrator, Carol Stevens, is in the process of adding this badge....
to the front of this cover....
We are thrilled to receive this award!!
If you are an author, we highly recommend checking out Reader's Favorite for reviews.
For you fellow readers, we recommend you take a peek at the

My fifth book in the WantsToBe children's picture eBook series, The Chipmunk Who Wanted To Be A Bear, is FREE from November 3 until midnight November 6.

Pick up your free copy here!
Rated 5 Stars and has hit #1 Best Seller in Category!This is the fifth fully-illustrated children's book in the Wants To Be series
Book Summary: Chipmunk is so afraid of things that he hates to leave his tree house! When he notices a grizzly bear who doesn't seem scared of anyt

My first book in the WantsToBe children's picture eBook series, The Snake Who Wanted To Be A Horse, is FREE from October 30 until midnight November 2.

Pick up your free copy here!
Has hit #1 Best Seller in Category and rated 4.6 STARS with over 40 reviews!This is the first fully-illustrated children's book in the Wants To Be series.
Book Summary: Snake has a tender belly. When he sees Horse galloping by, he decides his solution is to become a ho

My fourth book in the WantsToBe children's picture eBook series, The Peacock Who Wanted To Be A Pig, is FREE from October 26 until midnight October 29.

Pick up your free copy here!
Rated 5 STARS and has hit #1 Best Seller in Category!
Book Summary: Peacock's tail is so heavy his back hurts. When he see's Pig's tiny curly tail he decides becoming a pig will solve his problems. This idea sends him wading through mud, falling into slop, and a surprising new f